An easy step towards becoming self-sufficient is knowing what to eat when. Once you do, you can plan your planting, growing, harvesting and storing so that you always have home-grown produce to see you through the year.

Modern supermarkets can provide you with pretty much any fruit or vegetable all year round, so winter tomatoes aren’t the luxuries they once were. To get a true feel for what is in season at any time, then, it helps to look to the past, and this is one area where Britain’s most famous cooking writer can help out.

Isabella Beeton, famed for her Book of Household Management, wrote in an era before air-freighted bananas and a fridge in every home, and so her lists of what was in season at any time (or available from careful storage) are a good guide to simplifying the process of deciding what to grow, and when.

Particularly interesting is how many fewer things were available in late autumn and early winter than at the end of winter after the frosts and, in her day, hard snows and ice.

Here we take a look at what is in season around about now, in the cold months of October to March. Tomorrow we’ll cover off the summer from April to September.

October

VEGETABLES: Artichokes, beets, cabbages, cauliflowers, carrots, celery, lettuces, mushrooms, onions, potatoes, sprouts, tomatoes, turnips, vegetable marrows, various herbs.

FRUIT: Apples, black and white bullaces, damsons, figs, filberts, grapes, pears, quinces, walnuts.

November

VEGETABLES: Beetroot, cabbages, carrots, celery, lettuces, late cucumbers, onions, potatoes, salading, spinach, sprouts, various herbs.

FRUIT: Apples, bullaces, chestnuts, filberts, grapes, pears, walnuts.

December

VEGETABLES: Broccoli, cabbages, carrots, celery, leeks, onions, potatoes, parsnips, Scotch kale, turnips, winter spinach.

FRUIT: Apples, chestnuts, filberts, grapes, medlars, oranges, pears, walnuts, dried fruits, such as almonds and raisins, figs, dates, etc., crystallized preserves.

January

VEGETABLES: Beetroot, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, celery, chervil, cresses, cucumbers (forced), endive, lettuces, parsnips, potatoes, savoys, spinach, turnips, various herbs.

FRUIT: Apples, grapes, medlars, nuts, oranges, pears, walnuts, crystallised preserves (foreign), dried fruits, such as almonds and raisins; French and Spanish plums; prunes, figs, dates.

February

VEGETABLES: Beetroot, broccoli (purple and white), Brussels sprouts, cabbages, carrots, celery, chervil, cresses, cucumbers (forced), endive, kidney-beans, lettuces, parsnips, potatoes, savoys, spinach, turnips, various herbs.

FRUIT: Apples (golden and Dutch pippins), grapes, medlars, nuts, oranges, pears (Bon Chretien), walnuts, dried fruits (foreign), such as almonds and raisins; French and Spanish plums; prunes, figs, dates, crystallised preserves.

March

VEGETABLES: Beetroot, broccoli (purple and white), Brussels sprouts, cabbages, carrots, celery, chervil, cresses, cucumbers (forced), endive, kidney-beans, lettuces, parsnips, potatoes, savoys, sea-kale, spinach, turnips, various herbs.

FRUIT: Apples (golden and Dutch pippins), grapes, medlars, nuts, oranges, pears (Bon Chretien), walnuts, dried fruits (foreign), such as almonds and raisins; French and Spanish plums; prunes, figs, dates, crystallised preserves.

That takes us through the colder part of the year. Tomorrow we’ll cover off the spring and summer months from April to September.

What produce have you had luck growing or storing out of season? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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Related posts:

1. What food is in season right now? Part 2: summer
2. What food is in season in March?
3. Our plummeting food bills